-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Know why people do not set foot in the city.
Lori has decided to sacrifice the economic future of Chicago in return for ghetto votes. She has allowed wildings, shoplifting and carjacking just to get re-elected.
“Brookfield, which also owns Oakbrook Center and Northbrook Court malls, signaled its commitment to Water Tower last May, when it bought out its joint venture partner in the mall, UBS Trumbull, giving it a 94 percent stake in the property.” The smartest minds in private equity make the stupidest moves in business! 900 N Michigan was the blandest mall I’ve ever been in. It has the same stores as every other mall in the country. Why visit Banana Republic in Water Tower when you can visit Banana Republic at home? Do people still shop there anyway? Food life was an… Read more »
I don’t know what sales/ sq ft were, but before Pritzker and Lightfoot allowed the Wildlings to terrorize the Mag Mile there was pretty decent foot traffic down there. People liked to get out and walk. Now the place is off limits to most normal folks. Retailers that don’t leave are taking an enormous risk for there is no indication Pritzker and Lightfoot will do anything to stop the Wildlings. Just look at the surge in carjackings.
The Mag Mile and Loop are no go zones for most suburbanites until Lori, Kim Foxx, Tim Evans and their ilk show serious determination to put an end to the crime. With the new criminal reform law just signed, I am not sure the turnaround will ever occur. The convention people know this and are pulling out. Don’t see how that area prospers with only city residents supporting it. Real estate prices down there, including River North and West Loop have to be cratering. I don’t understand it, but this appears to be progress in the eyes of the Democrats.